


Inconvenient Presentation

by ohoholyshit (stepaknee)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Kuroo Tetsurou, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Kozume Kenma, M/M, Omega Tsukishima Kei
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-06 23:17:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10346811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepaknee/pseuds/ohoholyshit
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou's family is generation upon generation of betas.So going into his first rut, years late and smack in the middle training camp, was not at all on his radar.





	1. collapse

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who wrote this back in September and did nothing with it forever.  
> ME, I DID!
> 
> Basically, I'm tired of so many omegaverse fics being based around the omega's point of view. I want that alpha based fanfiction! Also many fanfictions are based around Tsukishima too? Shrugs.
> 
> So here is Kuroo struggling with being an alpha, plus having little to no background on how to deal being one since his family never expected to have to teach him.

Kuroo Tetsurou’s entire family was full of betas. His mother, his father, his grandparents on each side, nearly everyone in his family tree was a beta. So it wasn’t really a surprise when he turned 16 and had still not presented as either an alpha or omega. Betas didn’t exactly ‘present’ like everyone else did, they just never presented at all, never gaining a particular scent or characteristic that revealed them of a different nature. So by the age of 16, if you haven’t presented, you’re considered by everyone to be a beta. That’s just how it works, statistics show that a mere 0.001% of people will present past the age of 16, and as you get older the likelihood of presenting decreases exponentially.

So at the age of 17 with just months away from his 18th birthday, he was in the clear. He was a beta, and nothing would change that fact. Not even his idiotic crush on the beautiful and strong omega he knows, causing him to wish he could actually fulfill the man’s every need. But as a beta, he lacked the pheromones (and knot) to take care of an omega in heat. So he’d sit from a distance and pine, sit with his other beta friends as they all go through the motions and pretend to complain about how hormonal alphas and omegas were.

Many of betas complaints about the natures of alphas and omegas, in reality stemmed from jealousy than anything else. Sure, there were cases where the person was actually annoyed by the fixation on sex, Kenma was a wonderful example of this, but many times the lack of feeling the automatic click of bonding was a sore subject for betas. Kuroo had a feeling he suffered from that envy, though he hated to admit it.

But hey, his team respected him. Many team captains had the tendency to be alphas, but despite having alpha players on his team, he was still the one who ended up captain. And everyone liked the way it worked, the way the dynamic fit their players. Kuroo was aggressive enough to kick people into shape, but the lack of scent gave off a calming feeling when necessary. Sure, the team might feel more rallied if he was an alpha, like a general leading an army, but they didn’t need that right now. Things were fine.

As it were, the dynamic clearly was successful if the score was any indication. Sure, it was only a practice match, but they were still making Karasuno sweat with worry. They were up by nearly 15 points, with no signs of slowing down. There was some fumbling on Karasuno’s part, like they knew what to do but putting it together was another story. They’d been that way nearly the entire training camp, and were steadily getting better. But they still had a bit to go before they could beat anyone easily.

So Kuroo had zero doubt his team would win, and he soaked that fact in as he went in for a spike, delaying his jump a moment to trick the blocker in front of him. Tsukishima didn’t fall for it this time, but hey, at least Kuroo attempted. He’d probably make it through the block anyway.

There was a rush of something that caused surprise and hesitation within the Nekoma captain. A scent he couldn’t help but attempt to identify.

Citrus. Fresh bread. Spices. A vaguely sweet scent he couldn’t completely put his finger on, because one moment it seemed neutral or savory and the next it was like spun sugar. It left an impression of a loaf of lemon poppy seed bread, but with the spices usually contained within a strongly brewed cup of chai tea. He felt himself falter, his spike barely even hard enough to be considered that. The lack of force seemed to be a shock enough to get the point, but Kuroo didn’t bother to focus on the score.

He landed and stumbled, confusion filling his mind despite the situation being so very clear. Nothing strange had even happened, and yet his mind felt fuzzy, as if it was attempting to focus too hard on everything at once, leaving him with only the bare minimum to process his surroundings.

People were watching him in concern, noting his strange posture and stance, his sudden lack of coordination. Kuroo called for a player swap, intent to get to the locker room and calm his mind. His coach watched him carefully, looking over his hazy eyes before nodding, allowing him to take a rest. He was grateful to be allowed to leave the room, and he walked without rushing towards the door, despite the strange urge to run away as fast as possible.

He was nearly there, nearly towards the exit of the gym when he found himself on the floor, eyes unable to focus on the ceiling above him and instead flickering to almost every object in the room, as if he didn’t understand what any of it was for.  He felt fingers in his hair, the calm and cold press of fingers to his scalp he could only barely register as Kenma despite the setters face hovering in the corner of his vision.

People were speaking, rushed voices with hints of panic in their tone as they asked him questions he couldn’t quite make out and come up with an answer. His eyes wouldn’t stay in one place; they kept moving about in an attempt to gain back his wits, but seemed to be constantly drawn to one area, to one person hovering in the back because it wasn’t their teammate who was injured.

Nekomata must have parted the crowd of his teammates, because his face was inspecting Kuroo’s condition before motioning for people and saying words he could barely hear with all the blood rushing in his ears, the loud sounds of crashing waves that weren’t even there. He caught a few, but didn’t understand their relevance.

_Alpha. Rut._

Who were they even talking about at this point? Kuroo was lying on the floor unable to think and they were talking about some alpha that was near his rut? If he were able to actually process anything, he’d be offended at how rude that was.

But, if he were able to process, he’d probably realize they were speaking about him.

Nekomata was speaking directly to him, trying to get him to focus. Kenma tilted his head towards their coach, trying to get him to stop looking around him and pay attention to the person in front of him. His eyes still roamed, but he did find himself able to listen to the words said to him.

“Kuroo, you’ve presented. You’re going into rut, and we need you to get up and go to the heat room in the infirmary. The nurse will help you once you get there, and we’re going to have Lev and Bokuto help you up and walk.” Nekomata’s tone was calm but also severe, leaving no room for discussion about what needed to happen.

Kuroo squinted, clearly trying to think through what he was just told and after a moment he felt he understood well enough and nodded. He didn’t _feel_ like an alpha. He didn’t _feel_ like he was going into rut. But if they wanted him to go to the infirmary, he’d do it.

The elderly man watched him closely, following where his eyes went before noting the person Kuroo kept focusing on, the person who’d been closest when this all started.

The person Kuroo’s mind was circling around enough to confuse the rest of his thoughts.

Bokuto helped him up, patting him on the back while Lev hesitated a moment with putting an arm around him. They pulled him into a better walking position, leading him carefully to the door. Kuroo went willingly, not seeing a reason to struggle.

But as he reached the threshold, he found a pull that kept him rooted. He couldn’t leave this room. Something in the gym was too important to leave, to let out of his site. He needed to protect it, to curl around it until it was surrounded in his warmth and strength.

His struggles were weak, without commitment or aggression. It was clear he wished to remain where he was, but he didn’t have the ability to actually go against the arms pushing him forward. So they led him away, causing the string connecting Kuroo’s mind to his object of focus to finally snap, letting more of his normal functions return to a higher clarity. He blinked, realizing he gained back more of his focus and with it a stronger step. He nearly thought about fighting to go back to the gym, but as he got further from the other players he felt more clarity and with it the realization of what Nekomata had told him earlier.

“I’m an alpha.” Kuroo’s tone was amazed, with hints of it still seeming far off, as if he weren’t truly or fully there.

 

* * *

 

The nurse was a kind beta woman, with a sweet smile and gentle hands that checked his raising temperature. Judging from the lack of all scent in the room, there were filters blocking out any and all smells from seeping out into the air. He supposed that would be for the best, especially since the room he was about to enter is typically used for an omega’s heat. Alpha’s ruts were typically more regular, shorter, and less often therefore requiring less use of a separate room to seclude an individual from others.

First ruts, according to the nurse, were very unpredictable. The later the presenting, the more severe the side effects could be, so while a 12 year olds rut might just end up being mild discomfort and a slight fever, Kuroo would likely not be so lucky.

He felt it slowly creeping, as heat beneath his skin and frustration he couldn’t explain. It took him some time of searching his knowledge of alphas to recognize he was becoming angry at the lack of submission from the only other person in the room. Her neck was held high, and she was clearly proud of her abilities in her trade. She was beautiful, likely had many alphas and betas alike trying to get her to submit beneath them only to crush that idea with her stubborn-ness. She was the type of person Kuroo ordinarily would be interested in conversing with, who’d be impressed by and want to befriend, but he only felt a slow boil at her clearly defiant posture.

Logically, he noted her posture as neutral, but to his alpha instincts, she was attempting to be above him. And it made him frustrated beyond anything he’d felt before. He felt a growl building in the back of his throat, and it took clenching of his teeth to keep it from being vocalized.

He must have been obvious, because it wasn’t soon after that she finished up telling him what he needed to know that she moved him to the heat room, pointing out the button to call for anything he needed and leaving him alone with piles of freshly washed blankets with a medical scent lingering on them and pillows that looked stuffed fuller than any he’d ever seen.

 

* * *

  

Through the haze of burning up, moving his hips desperately against the bed, and biting into anything he could to hold back his desperate yelling, he noted for future reference that ruts _really fucking_ suck.

  

* * *

 

By the end of the second day within the heat room, Kuroo’s body temperature had lowered substantially. The desperation and need was absent, leaving a bone deep exhaustion unlike what he’d ever felt before. Even hardcore volleyball training had never drained him this much before, because when training he got _breaks_. His body seemed to refuse to give him those, despite how much needed they were. Sure, he’d gotten to sleep at some point and slept like the dead for a good six or eight hours, but the stress on his body was substantial enough that he felt like he hadn’t gotten a wink in weeks. 

The nurse cleared him a few hours later, giving him a low dosage of suppressants to keep any of the remaining symptoms down. It also, she explained as calmly as possible, helped stop the rut from flaring back up should he undergo enough stress and strain to force it to appear again. The news wasn’t exactly surprising to the new alpha, but that didn’t stop the frown from increasing on his face when she said it.

He was allowed to go back to the sleeping quarters of his team, but wouldn’t be alright to play with them until midday tomorrow. Practice was already over for the night, so it was likely they’d all be there, or at least heading towards the room with tired feet and full bellies.

That thought suddenly awakened Kuroo to the fact he was absolutely _starving_. He hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday, and had been so caught up in his borderline agony to notice. The nurse must have noticed, because she motioned for him to stay put and returned with two full servings of dinner, letting him eat his fill before finally escaping the infirmary.

Everyone was silent when he entered the room, clearly worried about Kuroo’s condition. Ruts were hard on the body, and presenting late in life was even worse as far as how taxing it could be. The combination could possibly cause complications, and Kuroo assumed he didn’t exactly look his best, with dazed, sleepy eyes and no doubt worse than normal bed-head.

He didn’t even wait for a response to his arrival before collapsing on Kenma’s futon, laying his head in the setter’s lap, careful not to knock the phone out of his hand. The younger teen’s eyes lifted from the phone for just a moment before going back to his phone.

“You look horrible.” One could always count on Kenma to be blunt as hell. Kuroo suddenly felt like he’d been gone for weeks, not a mere two days. He’d missed the steady, quiet tone in which his best friend typically spoke.

“Well I _feel_ like shit. Turns out ruts are not fun at all;” a groan of agreement could be heard from Taketora’s direction, “all those romantic movies that portray it as fun sex times? Lying. All of them. That was the _worst_.” Kuroo buried his face into the beta’s legs, taking comfort in such a neutral scent. Scents were so much stronger than before, so sharp and jarring that he couldn’t help but try and hide it all with someone familiar. Taketora and Lev smelled so _aggressively_. Not in a bad way, just in a way that made you able to notice their presence from anywhere in the room. Yaku and Fukunaga were similar in how noticeable their scents were, but it was like a shy smell that slipped itself into your thoughts without you even realizing. They were clearly more alluring, even though Yaku had an almost too sweet aroma that would typically be off putting to Kuroo in an average situation. It made it obvious to him that omegas were in the room, and it lingered in his mind far more than it ever had as a beta.

The strangest part is… they all still smelled like themselves. It didn’t feel like any of them had changed, it felt like Kuroo had just had dulled senses for the first 17 years of his life. Which, he supposed, is essentially exactly what had happened, but it was still a very odd sensation. He felt so different, and yet he was the same as he’d always been.

He felt chilled fingers run through his nearly matted hair, a soft encouragement from Kenma that was easiest for them. Verbal comfort never was their thing, and Kenma really would rather show through actions than be required to speak his feelings. That hesitance to use words is the exact reason why Kuroo was surprised when he heard a soft mutter.

 “You’ll adjust.”

He couldn’t help but smile into the fabric he was using to hide from the world, always happy to know Kenma could identify signs of stress within him. Even with Kuroo hiding behind his laid back attitude and teasing personality, it was no use to disguise distress from someone who’d been around him for so much of his life.

It might be a long road to feeling truly normal again, but at least this, along with the comforting aura he felt radiating from his teammates, would help.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a **huge** thanks to [elva](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvamire/pseuds/Elvamire/) who helped me edit this because i'd been doing 5+ hours of classwork (that i should have done earlier than that point in time but tis the college kid life) and was exhausted  
>  also thanks to [gaen](http://archiveofourown.org/users/GunsForTheMafia) who never stops encouraging me to (read as: declaring i must) continue writing, because i'm a lazy potato tbh
> 
> on that note, i'm not even sure i like this but i can't figure out how else i'd write it so i guess it's meant to be this way
> 
> i have like nothing specific in mind for this really, rip

Originally, Kuroo had been mildly annoyed at being kept away from practice any longer than he already had been.  

But stepping into the gym containing all those smells, all those people, he realized exactly why he'd been forced to take half a day to adjust. It was an overload on his senses, one that nearly caused a deep, throbbing headache to bloom behind his eyes.  

He tried to stay focused, to put all the scents on the back burner of his thoughts. For a while, it actually worked pretty damn well. He was able to watch the game without letting his mind wander to anything else, calling out helpful hints to his teammates since he wasn’t in the game to tell them up close. But the next rotation of practice matches caused new scents to come to the forefront, making it difficult to focus all over again. 

He knew one scent in particular was going to be difficult to remove from his mind. It had haunted him for the past two days, making him feel guilty in a way he had never experienced before. Thinking of a _particular_ person during rut was something Kuroo could only assume was considered rude, and he’d been _very_ fixated on a certain player. 

He wasn’t horribly surprised. He’d liked the guy before he’d even presented, but he had figured that a beta would have little to no chance of mating with an omega, since he lacked a knot or alpha pheromones. So he had been pining for a good while, getting as close as he could platonically to try and satisfy his far-too-intense crush while ignoring his romantic inclinations in the process.  

But he was an _alpha._ That meant he _had_ the biological functions that his previous status as a beta lacked; he had the means to satisfy the instincts of the stubborn blonde.  

Knowing he actually had a chance now that he had presented as an alpha made holding back his feelings extraordinarily difficult. Part of his brain wanted to say it was fate, that he was fated to present as an alpha to be with the blonde. Logic, however, reminded him he didn’t even know if Tsukishima was interested. He didn’t know if Tsukishima had any preference towards female or male alphas, or a preference for someone far more experienced with _being_ an alpha instead of a guy who had it thrust onto him without any knowledge of how to deal with the new rush of instincts.  

None of that mattered right now though. All Kuroo needed to focus on at the moment was keeping a clear head so they’d let him get back to practice. He could wonder about all the ‘what if’s at a later time, preferably when he had access to a computer to research more about his biological class. He had a feeling he’d be the clueless one for a while, accidentally offending people with improper etiquette more than even Bokuto supposedly had.  

 

It took a bit to get back into the swing of things, but in the end, his change into an alpha did nothing to the dynamic of his team. They played the same, they listened to him the same-- it was like he’d always been this way. Which was probably fairly accurate, considering all the past comments about how dominant and in charge Kuroo was for a beta. It was likely that no one would have been very surprised by him presenting, if it hadn’t been for his family's long beta genealogy and how utterly _late_ it had happened.   

Even the group hanging around in the third gym seemed the same as before, though Kuroo noticed himself keeping more distance between himself and Tsukishima.  

It wasn’t proper for an alpha to casually touch an omega, right? As a beta the small platonic touches he had become accustomed to hadn’t been a big deal, but it wasn’t right if an alpha did those things. He couldn’t just walk up and throw an arm around him like he used to; he had to keep in mind Tsukki’s comfort, and how his actions would appear to others.  

The guilt Kuroo was bottling up from his rut-fueled fantasies didn’t help the matter either. He had imagined things that were far from the boundaries of friendship and the platonic, had fixated on the omega to a level that every detail had been so clear in his mind that he’d nearly assumed it was real. 

And honestly, that was just plain creepy of him. He didn’t like it, didn’t like to think about it, about how attracted he was to Tsukishima without knowing how to reel himself in. He had never been possessive as a beta, so having the rush of _mine_ through his blood at the thought or sight of Tsukishima was making him uncomfortable with himself.  

Tsukishima wasn’t his, and he reminded himself of that constantly. His eyes fell to gaze longingly at the tall pale neck in front of him, ‘ _he’s not mine he’s not mine he’s not mine_ ’. He hated how he lowered someone he cared for down to a possession, even if it was intended to be more about how he was Kuroo’s to protect and cherish. Tsukishima could take care of himself, and had proven that fact many times.  

But that didn’t mean Kuroo didn’t feel a gut punching need to provide for him so he didn’t _have to_ take care of himself. 

Bokuto continued the usual onslaught of spike after spike, insisting Tsukishima and Kuroo block for him the entire time. Kuroo felt his body getting weaker, his stamina just barely having recovered from his rut and it finally got to him when his run up before a block faltered. He tripped over his own feet, his head swimming as all the blood rushed to his brain, but he just barely managed to stay standing. He heard the ball slam to the ground next to him, but he couldn’t focus on that when he felt a chilled hand touch his arm.  

He jolted slightly at the contrasting temperature with his own skin, looking up to see Tsukishima with furrowed eyebrows silently asking an unspoken ‘ _are you alright?_ ’. Kuroo’s eyes widened before he took a hasty step away, giving a bright smile to hide his mess-up. 

“Ah, sorry. Just tired. I think I might hit the hay early today, probably need the extra sleep.” Kuroo rubbed the back of his head, trying his best to ignore the way his skin tingled where Tsukishima had placed his hand. Kuroo berated himself as his thoughts strayed into unsafe territory, an unfortunately common occurrence that day.  

 _‘_ _Don’_ _t think about his skin, or his neck_ _. Don’t think about how pale and perfect it was,_ _about how gorgeously it contrasts with his eyes,_ _how it likely w_ _as even softer on his thighs and would mark so beautifully as you bite-_ _-_ _‘_  

Kuroo was tired of being so weak to his own fucking hormones. He was obviously new to being able to decipher scents more clearly or his body releasing a large amount of specific scents that were linked to emotion, but there was no way they couldn’t smell him right now. His scent probably made him seem like he was ready to jump someone.  

Which was probably because he was, in fact, fairly close to just saying fuck it and kissing the shit out of Tsukki if it didn’t mean ruining his relationship with the other. But it _did_ mean that, so he instead was suffering in his own little world while his friends watched him with concerned faces. 

Tsukishima’s eyes were narrowed, appearing displeased with the way his mouth curled downwards in an expression of distaste. It made Kuroo’s heart sink, his guilt rising as he realized where exactly the distaste was directed at.  

Kuroo could only assume the blonde had smelled him, smelled the tinge of sexual energy in his scent that hinted at what the Alpha was feeling, and was disgusted at the thought of Kuroo’s attraction being directed at him.  

“Fine. I’m going then, I’m not staying and blocking until Bokuto-san breaks my arms.” Tsukishima was curt with his words, picking up his water bottle from the sidelines and striding out without another word. 

Kuroo dropped his head into his hands as soon as the door slid shut. His groan was muffled against his palms, feeling himself become frustrated and angry for not being able to keep things in safe territory to avoid a disaster such as this. 

He wouldn’t have had this issue if he’d still been a beta, or even if he’d had time to reign in his instincts. He could have pretended that everything was platonic and great, like he did not have romantic or sexual interest in Tsukishima in any way, shape or form.  

Akaashi and Bokuto had both ducked under the net, walking over in with unsure steps. Kuroo kept his face hidden, stewing in his own bubble of misery.  

“You really upset him, you know.” Akaashi’s voice was relatively calm, with no accusatory tone hidden in his words. Kuroo sighed and lifted his face in response to hearing him, nodding solemnly.  

“I know.” Kuroo hoped to leave it at that, but there was an expectant look in both his friends faces. They weren’t letting him off the hook without an explanation, it seemed. “I don’t know how to help myself. I know he’s grossed out by me being so attracted to him, but I can’t control my scent yet to hide it. I didn’t mean to offend him.” 

Bokuto blinked multiple times, his eyebrows furrowing and his gaze flickering between Akaashi and Kuroo. He seemed to consider what to say for a moment, before finally opening his mouth to speak.  

“Kuroo… your scent hasn’t changed at all the entire time you were in here. You just smell like rut suppressants and sweat.” 

 

 None of them could figure out what Kuroo had actually done to upset Tsukishima. They’d attempted to piece it together for a while, recounting his actions before they finally just gave up and called it a night. Bokuto had groaned in complaint when Akaashi had volunteered them to clean up without Kuroo’s help, but Kuroo greatly appreciated the fact he could go straight to sleep.  

Or at least that’s what he had planned, before he noticed Yaku out of the corner of his eye and decided talking to someone with a bit more knowledge on omegas might be helpful.  

One look at Kuroo’s uncharacteristically serious expression, and Yaku nodded, allowing him to lead them to a more private area where they wouldn’t be heard, but close enough to be in view of others. 

They sat in silence for quite a while before Kuroo could bring himself to talk, picking at his fingernails where they'd grown slightly past the usual length he kept them as he attempted to condense his thoughts into a sentence that made even a lick of sense.  

“What’s the proper way for an alpha to act around omegas? I just… I never learned all this, and I’m afraid of making anyone uncomfortable. It’s frustrating to not know what secret boundaries there are, what I'm missing.” Kuroo’s voice was low, some words sounding mumbled from the slight embarrassment he wasn’t sure was even rational to be feeling.  

Yaku’s face shifted to surprise, his eyes blown wide before he blinked repeatedly and began to look pondering. He sat with his arms rested on his knees, leaning forward as he looked away from Kuroo and the night sky around them as he began to explain.  

“I mean, there isn’t that much of a difference. There is a bit of awareness needed of the fact that people might talk if you get too touchy-feely with someone, the same as when you were a beta, but it’s just a bit more intense in this case because it’s often assumed alphas always want to court an omega. It’s person to person, really. I can tell you the traditional etiquette for courting, but other than that there isn’t really a guide to all this.” 

Kuroo nodded as the libero spoke, letting out a sigh when he got the answer that he had been expecting, but didn’t want. He didn’t want to deal with the awkward weeks or even months it’d take him to catch on to the basics of societal expectations as an alpha, but he’d had a feeling he was going to be stuck with that.  

“Gotcha. I figured, I just thought I’d try and ask anyway.” Kuroo figured that was the end of the discussion he’d been looking to have, shifting his weight as if to stand up before he froze as another question came to the front of his thoughts. 

He leaned back again, looking over at Yaku and speaking rather quickly. “Okay, so this is probably _way_ too much information, but I'm going insane over it. If… if I thought of a specific omega during my rut, should I feel guilty? Because there's a lot of self-loathing happening over here currently.” 

Yaku had a strange expression on, squinting slightly as if he was deciphering a puzzled before Kuroo realized exactly why he would give him such a dubious look. 

“No, I’m not talking about you, Yakkun.” Kuroo snorted, watching as Yaku’s unsure expression melted into one of relief. 

“Good. Not that you aren’t attractive, but if you were seriously trying to pull the whole hypothetical confession with me, I would call you a coward. Plus, that’s kind of a heavy thing to just spring on someone.” Kuroo watched as the brunette thought for the slightest amount of time before speaking up again, his shoulders shrugging. “Personally, I don’t think you should feel bad. Sometimes it just happens, I can't even count how many omegas I’ve heard gossiping about which alpha popped up in their head during their heat. You shouldn’t feel bad about something that’s just hormone-fueled and automatic.” 

Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief, his body sagging visibly as he let himself relax. He still didn’t feel great about it, but at least he didn’t have to worry about it being morally wrong in the eyes of his peers. 

Yaku picked up his water, smirking slightly as he spoke before taking a large gulp in one of the most smug displays Kuroo'd ever seen.  

“Tsukishima doesn’t seem the type to be offended by that either, so I wouldn’t worry.” 

Kuroo’s neck nearly snapped from how fast he turned to look at him. He spluttered, unable to form the words that he wanted to say because of how blank with disbelief his mind had become. He could feel his entire face heating up with a blush, and he cleared his throat in an attempt to calm himself down. His voice was quiet and laced with vulnerability when he finally found the ability to speak again. 

“How did you know?” Kuroo let his eyes survey the area, paranoid that someone might know as well.  

He assumed he should be offended by how hard Yaku laughed, but he figured if he really had been that obvious, he probably deserved to be laughed at.  

“Mostly a guess. You’ve been side-eyeing him since way before your drama-queen presentation--” Kuroo made a noise of complaint at the insinuation he was overly dramatic, but let him continue uninterrupted, “--But you also don’t know many other omegas that are unattached, or any that you seem interested in. Figured that if it was anyone, it’d most likely be him.” 

“Please tell me it’s only because you’ve known me for three years that you’re able to figure that out.” 

Yaku laughed, a twinkle in his eye as he smiled at the alpha. “If you don’t want anyone to figure it out, maybe stop looking at him like a love-sick puppy when you think we aren’t looking.” 

In his defense, Yaku completely deserved the noogie he received for that.   

 

The next morning found Kuroo feeling far less exhausted, making his way to breakfast with more energy in his gait than the borderline-shuffling he’d adopted the day before. 

The training camp was ending. It was one of the shorter ones due to them not really having many days off from school this time around, and he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not to return to his daily life. He kept mentally running over the list of things he’d need to do or change once he returned home.  

He didn’t even know if his mom had been made aware or not. If she hadn't, informing her would certainly be a fun time. He supposed he should probably call ahead to make sure he didn’t just walk through the door smelling like an alpha. 

By the time he’d made it to the cafeteria to gorge himself beyond full, he’d decided when and how to call her and had made a mental note to do so.  

Getting his food didn’t take long, but he was a little worried he could have had eyes bigger than his stomach while piling it on his plate. But all things considered, he was fairly certain he’d end up eating every single bite anyway. He probably was still recovering from the massive amount of energy expended to go through his rut, some extra calories really couldn't hurt. 

He waved in the direction of Karasuno's table, getting responses ranging from overly enthusiastic to being flat out ignored. Kuroo tried not to feel disappointed when Tsukishima only stared at him with a distant expression before turning away, his face hidden from view. He'd figured he was still angry with him, but that didn’t stop him from hoping.  

By the time everyone was climbing into buses, Kuroo was completely convinced he’d messed up enough that he wouldn’t be given the chance to even find out what he’d done. He watched bitterly as Karasuno prepared to leave, only pausing his frustrated train of thought long enough to shake Daichi’s hand with the same shifty smile as usual.  

The barely-there pressure of a tap on his shoulder was unexpected, and his eyebrows furrowed as he spun slowly to face the person interrupting his festival of self-pity. He took in the barely-noticeable nervousness on Tsukishima’s face and managed to fight down his flaring instincts enough to look surprised.  

“Oh. Hey, I didn’t know if you wanted to speak to me or not…” Kuroo wasn’t sure if bringing up his anger directly was the best way to handle the situation, but he also wanted to make it known he had picked up on it and wasn't about to ignore the blonde's emotions. 

Tsukishima hummed, his fingers threading together and fiddling as he tried to pull together what he came to say. He had been avoiding Kuroo’s eyes since he turned around, and when he finally let their gazes meet, his gold eyes were filled with a determination that Kuroo had never seen so clearly before. 

“I was mad at you. I thought you were distancing yourself from because I’m an omega, and presenting made you think I was too weak for you to be friendly with now that you’re an alpha.” Tsukishima held up a finger when Kuroo’s mouth opened to protest, signaling he wasn’t done speaking. “It wasn’t until I talked to Yamaguchi that I realized that wasn’t the case. He saw you talking and laughing with Morisuke-san, and without trying to he heard some of what you’d said. About not knowing what’s the right way to do things to avoid offending an omega.” The blonde paused, looking like he wanted to bite his lip in thought before he mumbled his last words. “I shouldn’t have assumed.” 

Kuroo felt momentary panic at the mention of his talk with Yaku; but when there was no accusations made, he let himself relax. 

Tsuishima hadn’t apologized directly, but Kuroo could read between the lines and he would gladly take it. 

“Ah, yeah.” His hand went up to rub the back of his head, messing up his black hair even more than usual. “I’m kind of just treading water right now, I wasn’t exactly expecting to be thrown into all this. But I'm sorry I didn’t ask you directly about how you’d prefer things, I shouldn’t have just pulled away without asking what you were comfortable with. I didn’t want to overstep.” 

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk appearing on his face. “And provoking me into extra practice and shoving your way into my life wasn’t overstepping?” The sheepish smile that bloomed on Kuroo’s face was apparently enough to make the blond laugh, hiding his mouth behind a hand to muffle the sound.  

Well. That was certainly Kuroo's new favorite thing to witness and hear. 

Kuroo felt his eyes widen, his mouth opening slightly as he gazed at the blonde. It took Tsukishima meeting his gaze again for him to realize he was staring in what was most likely the biggest and most obvious display of awe of all time. He could feel some warmth on his face, but at least he didn’t feel the burning that notably accompanied his more drastic blush that was so bright it was seen from space. 

Tsukishima had looked away around the same time as him, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks in response to Kuroo’s enraptured expression. He cleared his throat before he pulled his phone from his pocket, holding it out casually. He murmured an explanation quietly. “If you’re so determined to bug me, might as well make it easier for you so you can get it out of your system faster.”   

Kuroo laughed, taking out his own phone and exchanging it with the one in Tsukishima’s hand. “I’ll never get tired of it, so you’re just making this worse for yourself.” He was smirking as he joked with the younger teen, inputting his information and adding a ridiculous cat emoticon to his own name.  

Their hands brushed as they exchanged the phones to the rightful owners, and both seemed to jolt slightly at the contact. They stood awkwardly with only a small gap between them, unsure of the best way to say goodbye after the situation had been resolved.  

When Tsukishima started walking away, grumbling about the bus leaving soon, Kuroo looped his hand around the blonde’s wrist without thinking, not putting pressure or holding him there, but making it known he that he didn’t want him to leave yet.  

The alpha’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, his mind running in circles as he debated against the words he’d instinctually considered speaking when he reached out. 

“I want to court you.” 

Well, that internal debate ended without him consciously making a decision. 

He flushed, continuing his words hurriedly in an attempt to explain himself. The last thing he wanted Tsukishima to think was that he was just jumping after the first omega he could because of his presentation as an alpha. “I-I mean, not yet. I don’t know anything about how to be a good alpha or how to go about courting anyone but I just… I’ve wanted to ask that for a while now. I figured you deserved more than some third year beta, so I never did.”  

Tsukishima seemed taken aback by his words, his eyes wide and body frozen up. Kuroo was seconds from berating himself for ruining their friendship when a deep crimson blush bloomed on the omegas features and his face turned to the side in an attempt to hide it. 

“I… wouldn’t have minded you as a beta, but I don’t mind you as an alpha either.” 

The words had been so quiet he almost didn’t hear, but Kuroo felt them ring through his mind repeatedly. He assumed a fist pump and jumping around would ruin the moment and be rather assumptive of him, so he resisted the urge-- just barely.  

“Is… that a maybe?” 

The omega didn’t speak until his back was turned, his ears turning red. He lifted his headphones, the plastic ruffling the hair at the nape of his neck. Kuroo’s eyes were drawn to the pale skin just beneath his hairline and had to drag his focus away in order to hear his next words.  

“It’s a _yes_.” 

Kuroo had never seen him move that fast before, even during a game. It felt like mere milliseconds before he was out of view and climbing into Karasuno’s ride home, leaving Kuroo in the dust. 

But it was for the best when Kuroo could no longer contain himself from physically expressing his joy, letting out a quiet exclamation of disbelief that he’d gotten a positive response and doing some strange half jump that nearly made him lose his balance.   

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be honest with you all. I'm a piece of shit who is horrible with updating and you all will probably want to murder me after I take ten years to post the next chapter.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> What can I say, ADHD is a bitch.


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